Why did he jump so high up on draft boards? Was it solely based on 40 time? Draft a la raiders of the past? He was a late rounder 4th 5th then invited to draft, What made him appealing in such a short time?

He didn't jump, the fear was that his foot would affect his stock but when he ran that time it affirmed that it wasn't a serious issue.

Combine that with his ability to dip/burst out of his cuts and limited experience then it's pretty clear he has a lot more room to get better since he worked mostly with short passes and has the size/speed to genuinely beat press coverage off the jam at the NFL level.

I get all those measurables. But he def jumped up boards. I haven't seen one example of him being talked about as a 1st-2nd before the surgery. All he did at the combine was bench press. I'm just saying its impressive(and a little nervousness) when someone shoots up that fast.

I get all those measurables. But he def jumped up boards. I haven't seen one example of him being talked about as a 1st-2nd before the surgery. All he did at the combine was bench press. I'm just saying its impressive(and a little nervousness) when someone shoots up that fast.

Impressive enough that he's now broken into the first round in most recent draft projections for this coming Saturday. That may come as a surprise to some. Latimer finished at IU with second team All-Big Ten honors and here in Bloomington, we knew what he was. However, the NFL gurus all had him as a late round pick in initial season ending mocks.

Despite battling a foot injury, Latimer is likely the hottest stock in the draft as of now. Going from projected late round to back end of the first in just a few short months is impressive.

Other than that IAOFM article where are you seeing he was projected as a 4 / 5 round pick?

He was projected as a 4-5 round pick by just about every site until about 2 weeks after his pro day.
From NFL.com to NFL Draft Scout/CBS.
Only after that 40 time did he spring up the draft boards.
Hell even then he was still seen as a 2nd rounder until a bit closer to the draft when Macshay and others started putting him in the first and saying they were impressed by his film.

Quote:

Originally Posted by fontaine

He didn't jump, the fear was that his foot would affect his stock but when he ran that time it affirmed that it wasn't a serious issue.

Combine that with his ability to dip/burst out of his cuts and limited experience then it's pretty clear he has a lot more room to get better since he worked mostly with short passes and has the size/speed to genuinely beat press coverage off the jam at the NFL level.

He jumped, we even talked all about it in the OM mock draft.
Most were shocked he went as high as he did.

Yep. Regardless of where he started out, by the time the draft rolled around he was seriously being looked at as a first-round pick.

My entire point was did he rise solely on a 40 time? Cause everyone knew his drop ratio, route ability, blocking skills, etc before that 40 time. None of those measurables moved the needle much. A 40 time happens and bam, he rose up fast.